NOT Available on DVD: GREAT SCOUT AND CATHOUSE THURSDAY

Article by Dana Jung

The 1970s was a significant decade in the history of American cinema. The sometimes wild experimentation of the avant garde movement of the 1960s had pretty much disappeared by the mid 70s. The decade gave birth to the adult film industry (DEEP THROAT), the modern slasher film (the one-two punch of HALLOWEEN and FRIDAY THE 13TH), and the Hollywood blockbuster (JAWS and later STAR WARS). The exploitation film subgenre (blaxploitation, sexploitation, etc.) peaked and gave way to teen comedies and horror films. The Western was all but dead. However, in 1976 American International Pictures released a wonderfully offbeat and satisfying Western comedy into this rapidly changing marketplace, THE GREAT SCOUT AND CATHOUSE THURSDAY, which regrettably is NOT available on DVD.

Sam Longwood (the great Lee Marvin) is the ‘great scout’ of the title, a grizzled and legendary Indian fighter whose time has come and gone. The turn of the century has brought not only new technology such as the horseless carriage, but also a certain mentality of greed and overblown spectacle that will set the tone for the rest of the century. Seeking payback from a former partner (Robert Culp) for an old debt, Longwood is joined on his quest by his cohorts Joe Knox (Oliver Reed), a somewhat bitter but amiable half-breed (whose Native American name is Knock-Down-Soldiers-With-A-Stick), and Billy (Strother Martin), a selfish but loyal whiner. Along the way, this motley band is joined by Thursday (Kay Lenz), a young prostitute so-named because, according to the lustful Billy, a man should have a different girl for every day of the week.

The movie is always interesting, jumping from plotline to plotline with a speed that matches the pace of the comedy or the drama at hand. Beginning as an Old West tale of revenge, then sidestepping into bawdy slapstick, and ending as a caper film, the movie is at heart a simple romance that exemplifies the story’s themes of the old guard meeting the new age.

Director Don Taylor was a solid veteran of TV and movies who distinguished himself on occasion (the underrated Brando version of THE ISLAND OF DR MOREAU and ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES, perhaps the best in that series). Writer Richard Shapiro, also a TV veteran, later became known for his work on the primetime soaps DYNASTY and THE COLBYS and also penned at least one certified cult classic, the Linda Blair telefilm SARAH T: PORTRAIT OF A TEENAGE ALCOHOLIC. GREAT SCOUT is full of Shapiro’s funny one-liners, such as, “Why don’t you give your mouth the rest of the day off?” But much of the humor comes from his well-wrought characters.

Lee Marvin here gives one of the best performances of his career, echoing not only the burned out cowboy for which he won his Oscar in CAT BALLOU, but also the cynical gunslinger in THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE. Seeing Marvin so energetically poke fun at his own tough-guy image, it;s a shame Marvin didn;t make more comedies. In many ways, the movie is an affectionate ode to a bygone era of tough, individualistic trailblazers personified by actors such as Marvin and Oliver Reed, and the characters they played. The new breed of ‘gentlemen’ is contrasted early in the film as Longwood, in his dusty travel clothes and ten-gallon hat, enters a saloon full of three-piece suits and bowler hats. Later, in perhaps the most sadly beautiful scene in the film, Longwood throws a scrapbook containing his various exploits into a fire and watches it burn, as a train whistle echoes in the distance, signaling the approach of the modern age. Reed and Martin are also a joy to watch, as each makes the most of their flamboyant characters. Culp and the wonderful Elizabeth Ashley, as Longwood;s foul-mouthed old flame, are enjoyable as basically the villains of the piece. But the film belongs to Marvin and the endearing Kay Lenz as Thursday. With her waiflike appearance and unconventionally pretty face, Lenz made a career of playing vulnerable but determined women. Beginning in television as a child actress, Lenz successfully alternated between TV work and exploitation films throughout the 1970s. Her long resume (she is still in demand and working today) includes the landmark miniseries RICH MAN, POOR MAN as well as the cult films MOVING VIOLATION, WHITE LINE FEVER, and the amazing STRIPPED TO KILL. In 1992 she gave a lovely performance in the little seen but acclaimed John Mellencamp drama FALLING FROM GRACE. She also starred in the original telefilm THE INITIATION OF SARAH (which has been remade at least twice), and was directed by Clint Eastwood (opposite William Holden) in BREEZY. In GREAT SCOUT, her relationship with Marvin’s Sam Longwood seems touching and real, and is the heart of the movie.

American International had a reputation for releasing quickie ripoffs of big studio films, and GREAT SCOUT came out a few years after Mel Brooks’ BLAZING SADDLES. But this raucous and touching comedy succeeds on levels other than big laughs, and though it did see a release in the short-lived Selectavision Video Disc format and Vestron Video VHS in the 1980s, THE GREAT SCOUT AND CATHOUSE THURSDAY deserves to be released on DVD.